(09-27-2023, 05:33 PM)doitall5000 Wrote: I was surprised to see no dying off shad. Years in the past had dying one inch all along the shores. Maybe deeper water it could be different this year.Good to see you again Verdean. Sorry the lake didn't treat us better.
The big dieoff of small shad usually doesn't begin until water temps drop below about 55. That's when the zooplankton thin out and the baby shad that are not big enough to feed on anything besides zooplankton start to die off from starvation. Gizzard shad can tolerate colder water than the threadfin shad, but they can't live without food.
There is a development process in young shad where they grow different mouth parts as they get bigger...so they can feed on algae and other stuff...not just shad. Baby shad that are spawned and hatch later in the spawn cycle may not develop far enough to survive on anything but the disappearing zooplankton.
And that's when the perch and some other predators really show up in the shallower waters...to glut on the dieing little shadlets.